Thanks For The Memories
by ShadowStalker221
Summary: Two Beacons of Hope have been lost and as a result humanity fell and from the ashes arose a new beginning, but with a new beginning comes the same old problems. The cycle has begun again, the time may be different, but the goal is the same, the players are the same and the ending will once again rest upon the shoulders of Humanity's Strongest Soldier and Humanity's Finest Commander
1. It's Begun

The walls have fallen, humanity lost. It comes in flashes, a scream here a vision there, but it's always the same. He can smell blood, it's as heavy as the realization around him, but the fast beating of a heart ringing in his head blots most of it out. Having lost count of how many times he's heard it, the shock is still new, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins is still fresh, the knowledge of what's about to happen permanently seared into his mind. The walls have fallen and their ignorance has come to finally kill them all, finally finish what had been started centuries ago.

~: :~

Levi's eyes flicker back and forth, his breathes coming out in short, ragged puffs. The darkness is beginning to seep into his vision and it's becoming clearer and clearer what's going to happen. All of his efforts, all of humanity's efforts have been for nothing. A high pitch noise and the sound of the blood rushing in his ears left him a trance like state and he was unaware of someone gripping his left shoulder, trying to turn him around to face them. Levi knows, feels his name being called but he can't hear it, as if there's a blank where his name should be. Then the pain kicked in, ultimately throwing him out of his state of shock and he scream louder than he ever had before in his life. Suddenly his body felt broken and blood was running down every inch of skin not covered by his uniform or what was left of his cloak. Levi quickly turned around to face the person shaking him and he was pulled into their chest. Shock once again started taking hold and he shook his head trying to keep it at bay. Looking to his left, Levi saw this person had no right arm and quickly deduced this was an old injury and without hesitation he wrapped his arms around the person. This person holding him so …intimately, he knew them…he knew him. Pushed against the hard, flat surface of the man 's chest, Levi held onto his uniform so tightly he thought he might rip it and he felt tears rolling down his face. The one arm around him held him even tighter than before. Shudders rippled through them both, shudders of one trying to hold back the sounds of crying.

Suddenly Levi could hear everything, the sound of screaming, fire engulfing buildings, the shock waves of titan feet as they hit the ground, the sound of men crying. The other man's hand threaded itself in Levi's hair and gently move around the top of head, a wave of relief crashed over him.

"I'm sorry[ ] I'm so sorry…," the Raven heard the man say. Pulling back he looked up at the man and saw tears flowing from his eyes, his hair so soaked with blood one might mistake it for his natural hair color, but Levi knew better. Smoky, grey eyes gazed into pools of pure skyline and, as if on auto pilot, Levi's hand reached upward and caressed his cheek.

"It's alright [], it's alright," the Raven replied, the words pouring from his lips without any hesitation or restraint. Both men leaned in towards each other and rested their foreheads together tears rolling down their cheeks in streams. The end was coming and it was finally catching up to them both. Something just felt right to Levi, as if this man meant more to him that he could remember, as if it was his destiny to die with this man. The ground began to quake and the sounds of buildings being pushed out of the way flooded their eardrums. Two fifteen meter titans appeared around the corner, instantly spotting the wounded soldiers. Sensing death approaching, the other man placed his remaining hand on Levi's face and pushed him upwards in order to deliver one final kiss on Levi's lips, every ounce of love he had for Levi could be felt in that single kiss. But this kiss wasn't a goodbye, it was a promise.

"[] I promise I'll find you again. I don't care if it's a thousand years from now or if I find you in the plains of oblivion, I will find you again," the man promised fiercely. Trying hard to regain any ounce of composure he had left, Levi replied,

"Don't forget me about me, [], because I won't forget about you. Damn it I love you, Commander."

The titans were zeroing in on the soldiers; they could feel their foot steps getting closer and closer the rumbling getting louder and louder.

"I love you too, Corporal. Damn it I love you so much." The Commander tried so hard not to break down any further and gritted his teeth in anger, in sadness, in failure. Two sets of titan feet landed just inches away from the Commander and Corporal and they quickly clung to each other as the titans bent down and grabbed them both. Holding onto each other's hand, they refused to go. Their fingers were intertwined so tightly they could feel bones popping as the titans pulled them apart until the last two digits broke apart. The two men continued staring at each other tears pricking at their eyes; they screamed each other's names one last time. Before the darkness took over, Levi heard the Commander scream one last time,

"I promise I'll find you again, []! I love you!" The titan's jaws closed liked a venous fly trap and just as the other titan did the same Levi awoke with a shout.

~: :~

Levi's eyes bolted open and a shout escaped his lips as he shot up in bed. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to beat out of his rib cage. Sweat poured down his face and began to trickle down his shirt. Rubbing his hand over his face, Levi looked over at the clock on his bed side table, 6:30 a.m. With a sigh, he swung his legs over the bed and slowly stood up. That dream always made his head hurt as well as his heart, even though he doesn't know why. For the past six months the same dream has been haunting him and it's always the same, but every time it feels new as if it was the first night again. Levi has told his friends about it, but they were of no help answering the burning question of what the dream means. Isabella believes that maybe someone from his "colorful" past is trying to tell him something. The only problem is that he would never forget anyone whose eyes were that blue, were that beautiful and he damn sure wouldn't forget confessing his love to said person. Farlon was of no help either as he hounded him with questions of any possible drug addictions. And Hanji, god Hanji, wanted to run extensive tests that Levi knows for sure aren't in C.I.A. protocol nor are entirely legal, even for C.I.A. standards. Deciding to push it aside, Levi walked to wards the bathroom to take a hot shower, hoping the hot water would help ease his mind.

It's 7:59 a.m. when Levi walks into C.I.A. headquarters. Scanning his security card and waiting for clearance from checkpoint A, Levi waves at Thomas the security guard in charge of checkpoint B. Hearing the all clear, the Raven walks over to Thomas and tells him good morning with a small and very rare, smile. After the finishing the tribulations that is C.I.A. security, Levi finally reaches the office and scans the area to see who's still hung over from Reiner and Hailey's farewell to the weekend party. Having been forced to go by Hailey, as if he could say no to her persistent begging, he was actually surprised at how fun it was. Seeing Deputy Director Pixis drunk off his ass and singing karaoke with a just as drunk, if not more, Nile Dok was defiantly something he had to see to believe. Lost in thought, Levi didn't hear Isabella and Farlon come up behind him and grab both his shoulders. Normally he'd instantly turn around and threaten to punch who ever had the nerve to touch him, but having been friends with the two idiots since childhood, he's long since memorized their touch.

"Seeing who's still hung over, Levi? I still can't get it." Isabella giggled. Farlon laughed as he shook his head.

"Damn that party was amazing last night. Braun and Leonhardt sure know how to throw a party. I swear to God I would have never believed that Deputy Director Pixis sang karaoke with Nile Dok had I not been there to witness it and possibly film it." Levi let out a quiet laugh as smiled at his friends. Checking his watch he reminded Isabella and Farlon that they had a debriefing this morning in about ten minutes and began heading to the debriefing room.

~: :~

Within the room, agents from all departments were talking amongst themselves. Some were wearing sunglasses to try and hide their bloodshot and sunken eyes, even though everyone knew the reason and could possibly care less. Hell 90% of the C.I.A. had been at that party and nearly all of them were either drunk or almost there. On the front row the three creators of the legendary party, Hailey Leonhardt, Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover, sat quietly basking in the glow of their successful stunt. The whole C.I.A. will be talking about it for months, that is until the annual Christmas party comes around. This year Hailey and Reiner have been chosen to organize it this year and if a simple farewell to the weekend party caused half the agents to have massive hangovers on a Sunday night, God help save them all and their kidneys.

Levi, Isabella and Farlon took their seats on the fifth row and waited for the other agents to arrive. As the room began to fill up, Isabella spotted Deputy Director Pixis enter the room and it quickly became as quiet as a graveyard. Walking up to the podium, Pixis removed his sunglasses, the fading blue crescents under his eyes were barley noticeable, surprising considering how much he drank and his bloodshot eyes were quickly disappearing. Clearing his throat he spoke,

"Good morning agents. I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend," Pixis said as he shot a glance at the trio in the front, snickering could be heard coming from the trouble makers. "Before I forget, let us all thank Agents Braun, Leonhardt and Hoover for that unforgettable farewell to the weekend party last night." The whole room clapped and cheered but quickly stopped as the Deputy Director held up his hand.

"I was told that I may or may not have been heavily intoxicated and may or may not have sung karaoke with Mission Manager Nile Dok. For those of you who are laughing let it be known that should I come to find out that any one video tapped me and leaked it out onto the internet, I will demote you so far down the ranks that the janitor will have more authority than you," the Deputy Director said with an ominous smile. Farlon shifted nervously in his seat as Levi and Isabella coughed into their fists to hide a laugh.

"Now I was informed this morning that Director Zackly has chosen today of all morning to send Inspector General Berwick to have his biweekly check up of our departments. I expect him to pass us with flying colors and just because there was a party last night does not give you an excuse to do poorly and bring our whole department down. Seeing as most of you have come into work with glasses, I have taken the liberty of asking Chief Scientist Zoe to help speed up the process of turning you teenagers back into adults. Berwick will be coming around 10:00 a.m., if you feel you won't be back to "normal" in that time, go see Ms. Zoe. Now that that is out of the way," Pixis said as he turned at an angle to face the board, "let's get down to business and start the debriefing."

**~ Hello my Lovlies it is me! It's been over a year maybe more since I've last posted anything! I've become obsessed with Attack On Titan and I got this idea and felt that Attack On Titan would be the perfect fandom to write it in! There will be OC's they are my friends who wanted to be in the fanfiction and Hailey, is the reincarnation of Annie so that's why I have her with Annie's last name! Please stick around I promise it'll be worth it! :D**


	2. It's a Statement

Clicking the remote, Deputy Director Dot Pixis flipped to the first slide of his Monday morning debriefing slideshow. A picture of a C.I.A. run building appeared with its location along with a follow up picture of agents surrounding a computer terminal.

"Agents, this is one of our central intelligence storage facilities in Moscow, Russia. Two months ago it was broken into by unknown assailants. The computer terminal you see in the photograph was hacked and not by some rookie trying to hack into a bank to transfers funds into their account. This computer was hacked by a professional and I use the term lightly for I, at this moment, have no word good enough to describe this individual. No amateur could have even gotten to log in screen let alone actually gain entry." Flipping to the next slide, Pixis cleared his throat and continued.

"What you see here are the security readings from the computer and the rest of the building. At exactly 11:57 p.m. reports show of a window beam being broken in the Northwest side of the facility, however the alarm didn't go off until five minutes later. Whoever hacked the computer must have also caused the delay in the alarm system. Agents that security system is the greatest security system on the face of the earth only the creator himself could have gotten around it. I'm going to give the floor to Agent Zacharias so he can explain further, "Pixis said as he stepped off the podium. Agent Mike Zacharias, head of the Counterintelligence Center, thanked the Deputy Director and took his place at the podium.

"From what my team has deduced, this individual did not act alone. They're most likely a part of a larger group of similar people, probably masters of technology and intelligence gathering. This person knew exactly when the guards would be done with the sweep of the Northwest side and what terminal would hold the information they needed. They also knew what information they were looking for, where to find it, and how to transfer the files without leaving behind any type of flash drive signature on the hard drive. All in all, they broke it, hacked the computer, collected the information and got out in less than five minutes. Not even our best hacker, Agent William, could have gotten in and out that fast. From that, my team and I have agreed this person or group has come in contact with our inner workings and or somehow obtained highly classified information" A wave of murmuring and hushed whispers came from the crowd of agents. The entire room came down with a heavy tension, but this was nothing new. It's the C.I.A., America's first line of defense from not only itself but from foreign invaders, be that as it may, it still doesn't send a shiver down their backs knowing they aren't as invincible as they like to think. Quickly changing the gravity of the situation, Mike spoke up,

"Agent Braun and his team have been investigating the situation and have formed their report, for this was not an isolated incident."

Mike quickly stepped down and took his place next to his fellow agent, Nanaba who took hold of his hand and squeezed it trying to help him calm down. Mike was not a big fan of public speaking, nor was he a man of words. What was said about a minute ago was the most he's spoken in weeks, or at least to the other agents' knowledge. Nanaba however would know better than anyone how much Mike actually speaks. The two had been unintentionally "flirting" as the other agents put it, for awhile and neither of them ever officially asked the other out on a date. It was more a mutual agreement and so far it's been working. When Mike and Nanaba believe no one else is watching, they hold hands and Mike says apparently, either very funny or sexually suggestive things, into Nanaba's ear who then blushes and shakes her head as Mike wears that smirk on his face, all the while half the agency is secretly watching from the break room trying to wrap their heads around the idea of two of the most silent agents, even more quiet than Levi, were laughing and holding hands. Mike let out a deep breath and squeezed Nanaba's hand a little tighter and whispered a quiet thank you to her.

Reluctantly, meaning Hailey had to push him up the stairs; Reiner took his place at the podium. Taking her seat, Hailey winked at the brute, blowing him a kiss for luck, he tried not to blush and adjusted his tie wondering if the room had suddenly gotten hotter to anyone else.

"Last month, in Bonn, Germany, another one of our intelligence bases was hit," Reiner said as he clicked the remote causing the next slide to appear. "Entry was the same as well as the time of arrival and departure. As of now our Counterintelligence has determined the information taken from our Moscow base was a list of every C.I.A. intelligence base and recently from our Bonn base, records of our communications between our bases as well as the security rounds and basic level access codes. Said codes and security rounds have been changed but we aren't sure if this was what our thieves wanted. The whole situation is still fuzzy, but my team and I may have determined what base is going to be hit next and where we can counter them, maybe even catch them in the act and bust their asses." A snicker could be heard coming from Pixis, which shocked a few agents including Reiner who was a little embarrassed by his slip of the tongue. Coughing into his fist to cover up his embarrassment, Reiner handed the floor back over to Pixis and quickly took his seat. Hailey smiled at him and told him he did a good job, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek causing the bigger blonde to turn even redder. Bertholdt shifted in his seat and quietly told Reiner that he did great and Reiner replied with a grunted thanks.

Deputy Director once again stood at the podium and spoke,

"To wrap this little debriefing up, Director Zackly has approved my proposal of sending three of our best National Clandestine Service agents to Slikenborg, Denmark where Agent Braun's team believes the next base will be hit." Pixis clicked the last slide and the names and faces of the agents chosen appeared.

"Agents Levi Ackerman, Isabella Magnolia and Farlon Church, you have been selected for this mission. Please go see Mission Directors Rico Brzenka and Nile Dok when this is over. As for the rest of you, get your crap together and get ready for Inspector General Berwick, dismissed." And with that the agents cleared out of the debriefing room, some taking a detour to see Hanji.

Levi, Isabella and Farlon made their way to the Mission Directors' office. All three of them were a little nervous, even if they didn't want to admit it. This was a big deal and Deputy Director Pixis entrusted the future of America's safety in their hands, C.I.A. or not, that was a lot of pressure, but this is what they trained for. Isabella knocked on the office door and waited for one of the directors to call them in.

Rico was standing by her desk while Nile was typing away on his computer unaware of the agents' arrival.

"Good morning agents, I have your mission details right here." Rico passed them each a folder and readjusted her glasses. The three agents' eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they opened the folder and instead seeing the standard four or five papers, there was only a single sheet. Farlon spoke for them all when he asked,

"Excuse me, Mr. Brzenka, but why is there only one paper for this mission? We normally get at least four." Leaning back against her desk, Rico replied,

"The reason for that Agent Church, is because that's all the details I was given from Director Zackly. What you see on that page is the exact same content I received from his hands this morning. I believe he's taking extra precautions with this mission, should there be a rat amongst us they won't get very far."

"Yes but," Isabella quickly added, "won't we too be in the dark on this as well?" Rico shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you, I'm sorry. Apparently this base is especially secretive, meaning now only seven people in this headquarters know of its existence, you, Levi, Farlon, me, Nile, Pixis and Zackly. This base isn't even on official record from what the Director told me, so I'm sure you'll find out why once you get there. Details are in there, what little there may be."

Rico circled around her desk and sat down in her chair and let out a sigh. The trio took that as their signal to leave and left the room. After hearing the door shut, Rico turned to Nile and asked in a sneering voice,

"So Nile, want to go to a karaoke bar?"

~: :~

Levi was unusually quiet as he walked with Isabella and Farlon. Sensing this, Isabella asked him,

"You had the dream again didn't you?" The question was more of a statement, but a question all the same to Levi. The agent continued walking, though he tensed for a second at the question, which Isabella quickly noticed.

"What does it matter?" Levi replied darkly. "I have it every other day, Isabella."

"Yes, but this has been going on for six months now, Levi. Don't you think that someone is trying to tell you something?"Isabella insisted that this was more serious than Levi was taking it, but nothing she said seemed to stick. Farlon joined in adding,

"Ya, Levi, maybe your mind is trying to tell you that you've been playing for the wrong team this whole time. No wonder you've never had a girlfriend." Before Farlon could add further to it, Levi slammed him against the wall, harder than he had intended or maybe not, he couldn't decide at the moment. The wall shook slightly and a few agents stopped what they were doing to turn their attention towards Levi. The smaller man said nothing, only stared up at Farlon with an intense gaze. Isabella stood by didn't say a word, waiting until Levi abruptly removed he arm from across Farlon's chest. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed once. Levi jerked away from her touch and started walking away from his friends and down the hall leading to the science department.

~: :~

Levi entered Hanji's laboratory and navigated the zoo that was Hanji Zoe's workshop. Ducking to avoid experiments hanging from the ceiling, Lord only knows how she got them up there, and narrowly missing her underlings as they ran past him carrying beakers and Petri dishes filled with what could only be classified as the creature from the Black Lagoon. Levi heard Hanji's over ecstatic shouting a little further down and made his way there.

"Ah ha! It worked! My experiment worked!" Hanji cheered as she jumped in place.

"Oi, Shitty Glasses!" Levi called out as he approached her. "What in God's name are you screaming about this time?" Hanji turned around and grabbed Levi's hand, leading him to her experiment.

"Here, Levi look! Look at my baby!" Levi rolled his eyes, she says that about all her experiments. Looking down at the lab station table, he was met with a half eaten skeleton of what appears to be a very large sewer rat. Thousands of beetles were swarming its carcass, picking every last piece of meat clean off the bones. Looking back up at Hanji with a look of complete indifference, Levi questioned her why this was so special.

"Oh Levi," she whined, "can you not see the beauty I've created?"

"All I see is a half eaten rat."

"Would you believe me if I told you I put both the rat and beetles in at the same time not twenty minutes ago?" Levi shot a look of disbelief at Hanji.

"Impossible. It takes those flesh eating beetles at least a day to pick a skeleton clean there's no way they've eaten this rat so quickly." Hanji smiled ominously and giggled at the smaller man. There were very few people who freaked Levi out and Hanji Zoe was at the top of that list, God love her.

"I'm guessing your experiment was figuring out a way to stir them into a feeding frenzy quicker?"

"Precisely, I messed around with their hormonal responses to hunger and fresh meat until I figured out the right combination!" Hanji swooned as she clapped her hands together. "And it was actually my assistant that discovered the right combination." Levi raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"You don't have an assistant, Hanji, just your little minions." Shaking her head 'no', Hanji pointed to her left as a man who had no business in the science department came running towards her. He was roughly her height, short sandy brown hair with blue colored eyes and a look of permanent amazement on his face. In his hand he held two cups of coffee and Levi had a bed feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"H-Han…Hanji," the man gasped out, breath escaping him. "I-I got you your co-coffee." Smiling she took the cup from his shaking hand.

"Thank you, Ryan. Oh, Ryan, this is my friend, Agent Levi." Ryan extended his hand to shake his hand, but missed entirely and ended up spilling his cup of coffee all over Levi's suit jacket. Like lightning, Levi jumped back and tried very hard not to punch this man he'd only been acquainted with for less than a minute.

"Oh shit, Levi, I'm so sorry," Ryan quickly apologized as he grabbed the roll of paper towels from Hanji's lab table.

"It's fine, Ryan, really," Levi replied, trying to sound understanding and not pissed off anymore than he already was. Hanji merely giggled and patted Ryan on the back. After the two men tried their best at removing as much coffee as they could from Levi's jacket, Ryan once again said he was sorry. Levi told him it was fine while "lightly" punching him on the shoulder sending the man back an inch or so. Ryan swiftly left Hanji and Levi and the Raven turned his head toward the Chief Scientist.

"Where the hell did you find that guy?" Levi asked bitterly.

"He actually works in the Development and Engineering department. I was borrowing some of his equipment for an experiment and he just started asking me if he needed help on my experiments, since someone won't help me anymore," Hanji pouted.

"Hanji, the last time I helped you I was throwing up green blood for two days. Green blood, Hanji! I'm just glad you got some other sap to help you, since it's obvious he's got a crush on you."

"What?" the scientist replied in disbelief. "Ryan doesn't have a crush on me." It was obvious the engineer had a hard on for her, but Hanji being Hanji wouldn't get the hint even if he wrote it on a sign and put it up every where in her lab.

"Whatever, shitty glasses, I've got a mission I have to get ready for and I've got to get my spare jacket from my locker." Levi said goodbye and headed for the door, but before he left he asked the scientist,

"Hey, Hanji, you sure you weren't a mad scientist in a past life?" Hanji smiled lightly, her eyes softening.

"I have a feeling I was, Levi…"


	3. You're Alive

"_Stupid prick, spilling coffee all over my jacket. I have half a mind to hunt him down and make him pay for ruining my suit,_" Levi thought angrily as he made his way to his locker. Thankfully, being the clean freak that he is, Levi always kept a spare suit jacket in his locker for situations such as this. Rounding the corner, Levi entered the locker room and went to his. Entering the combination, the agent grabbed the jacket hanging on the hook and slipped it on. Ryan was damn lucky he didn't also ruin Levi's shirt or else there would be know hope of them ever getting along, as if there was any hope at the moment. Hearing a noise, the agent shut his locker door and turned his head in the direction of the noise, speak of the Devil. Ryan, composure regained as well as stature, stood in front of Levi waiting to see if he should start running. Levi let out a sigh and asked the engineer,

"Come to ruin this jacket too? Because this is the only one I have and I'm already pissed off about the first one."

"No, I'm not," Ryan replied, voice filled with confidence instead of nervousness. "My locker is actually next to yours and I came to retrieve the report I finished last night. You can never be too confident in technology, trust me. That's why I always print out a hard copy just in case and leave it in here." Levi hummed in agreement and turned to leave the room, but he stopped just outside to say one last thing.

"Oi, Ryan," Levi said with eyes narrowed and voice lowered. "if you ever ruin one of my suit jackets again I promise that I will personally track you down in whatever dank, cramped office you hide in and destroy every last piece of technology and engineering design you hold dear to you. Is that understood?" Unable to come up with a reply, Ryan merely nodded. If he was afraid it didn't show on his face, maybe he wasn't as big of a stuttering, nervous wreck Levi had originally assumed.

~: :~

It was 9:30 a.m. when Levi, Isabella and Farlon met up once again. The events prior to there meeting were forgotten, that or no one was willing to it bring up again. Farlon and Levi wouldn't look in each other's direction and Isabella was forced to be the middle man and deal with it on both fronts. She's learned early on that it's best for them to just pout for a few days and get over it, but that doesn't mean she likes it when they don't talk.

They all stood there together waiting for the driver to take them to the airfield where they'd get on the private jet that's taking them to Slikenborg. The mission report only told them report and departure time, who was taking them to the airfield, how long they'd be there, what time they were coming home, where they'd be staying, and who was going to take them to the base, any other details were left to the imagination of the agents. A car drove up to the C.I.A. headquarters and two men in black suits stepped out and escorted them to the car and put their bags in the back. With Farlon on the far left, Isabella in the middle and Levi on the far right, the drive to the airfield was thick with tension. Both men stared out the window and left Isabella alone to shift in her seat. For some reason she had a bad feeling about this mission, like something awful was going to happen. Her stomach was in knots and this feeling of grief hung over her head. Suddenly being chosen for this mission didn't seem like the honor it was supposed to be. She silently bowed her head and prayed, something she hasn't done in a long time.

~: :~

Back at C.I.A. Headquarters, everyone was getting ready for Inspector General Berwick, which it seems is the only time most of the agents freak out over whether or not their desk was in order. In the C.I.A. there was this state of things called organized chaos that the higher ups didn't always understand. Desks may not look spick and span, but the owner knew exactly where everything was and could find it in an instant. However, the government as well as the higher ups, have a pole up their butts when it comes to inspections and if everything isn't organized and clean, they'll assume that American tax dollars are being wasted on the C.I.A. and cut funding even more than already have. Some agents are neat freaks, like Levi, and don't even have to do anything for inspection, while the majority, even Deputy Director Pixis, have mastered organized chaos and have to overhaul when it comes to cleaning.

Having pulled an all night cleaning session, the Russian and European Analysis trio stood around their desks waiting for Berwick to come by. Hailey sat on Reiner's desk and messed with his tie as Bertholdt kept watch for Berwick. It seems like ever since Hailey and Reiner got together while they were all in training together; Bertholdt has always been the watch dog. If he was unhappy with it he never said a word, but oddly enough it was Bertholdt who volunteered to keep watch the very first time and just kept doing it. Reiner stood in between Hailey's legs that hung down against the front of the desk and silently watched her as she kept messing with his tie. Why she does this he doesn't know but he'll be damned if he doesn't find it cute. Then again, to him, everything Hailey does is cute.

"What about my tie do you find so interesting?" the Brute asked. Hailey gave him a sultry smile and tugged on it, effectively bringing the man down.

"The fact that I can use it in many ways other than this." Reiner blushed but quickly gave the blonde a smirk as he leaned in and kissed her. A quiet moan from Hailey was trapped in her throat and her eyes slowly fluttered closed. Reiner's left hand gripped the desk while his right cupped Hailey's cheek and titled her head upwards. Bertholdt looked out of the corner of his eye and began to sweat as he tried to block out the sounds of his friends and focused back on looking for Berwick. The blonde wrapped one of her legs around Reiner's waist and pulled him towards her, smiling as she heard his breathing hitch. Threading her free hand in the brute's hair, Hailey yanked a little harder on his tie and dominated the battle they were having.

Bertholdt spotted Berwick and tried to get their attention.

"Guys, hey guys, Berwick is coming! Guys cut it out!" Reiner and Hailey groaned in annoyance and broke apart. Hailey started snickering and Reiner immediately knew why and began thinking about things that would instantly kill a boner. Bertholdt left his post and stood at his desk ready for inspection. Hailey whispered in Reiner's ear and his eyes widened, his boner successfully killed. Smiling she took his hand and led them to their desks.

Berwick made his way to the trio and said good morning. With backs straightened and the posture of a proper C.I.A. agent, the trio waited for the Inspector General to finish. In about ten minutes he wrote down on their papers and congratulated them on a job well done and left to continue his rounds. As soon as he was out of range they let out a sigh of relief and went back to work.

~: :~

Hanji waited anxiously for Berwick to arrive, pacing back and forth in her laboratory. Her underlings told her to relax but Berwick had the power to take away her experiments. The first year she was hired and inspections came around, her lab was so chaotic Berwick told Deputy Director Pixis to take all of her experiments away for a day and Hanji went insane. She was in the corner in the fetal position crying asking for her babies. Needless to say, Hanji never failed another inspection, but that caused her to become incredibly nervous and jumpy.

Ryan walked into Hanji's lab and spotted the scientist.

"Hey, Hanji how's it going?" Ryan asked as he placed his hand on the lab table. Hanji immediately cocked her head and stared at his hand screaming,

"Don't touch that!" And pushed the surprised man away and began scrubbing the table.

"Inspector General Berwick is coming, Ryan! My lab has to be spotless or else he'll take my babies away!" Hanji cried hysterically. Ryan tried to comfort her but until Berwick passed her with flying colors, nothing was going to calm her down. Berwick had already graded Ryan and passed the entire department. Right on schedule the inspector came around and immediately came for Hanji first. Hanji gulped and began to shake. The inspector walked around and hummed in either approval or disapproval, it was hard to tell when it came to him. Making his way to the Chief Scientist, he finished his report and said,

"Congratulations, Chief Scientist Zoe, looks like I won't have to confiscate your um," Berwick looked around at the colorful array of test tubes and Petri dishes, "babies as you call them, this time. It seems you're getting better." And with that, he left the science department and headed for the medial wing. Hanji screamed and jumped in place, excited that her children were safe for another two weeks. Without thinking, Hanji grabbed Ryan's face and kissed him on the lips then went back to her experiments. Still frozen in place, the engineer touched his lips and found the will to move his legs and leave the lab.

~: :~

"What do you even intend to do, Levi?" Isabella asked as he paced back and forth. Farlon was silently watching the shorter man wondering the same thing. Levi stopped in his tracks and looked at them.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill [ ]." A flash, a fast forward, they were soaring through the trees, searching for their targets. Titians. Fast forward, missing blanks. They were everywhere, they couldn't escape. Farlon and Isabella's backs were against a fallen building, beyond the walls, beyond help. It was running towards them and there was no way out. Gripping each other's hand they waited and Isabella heard Levi scream her name one last time.

Isabella's eyes shot open and she gasped. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, but it wasn't a dream was it…? It felt so familiar, like Déjà vu. She heard light snoring and looked on both sides of her. Levi and Farlon were passed out and were alive, she was alive. Taking a deep breathe she mentally said,

"Your name is Isabella Magnolia, you're on a jet flying to Slikenborg, Denmark and you're alive." You're alive. You're alive. You're alive. For now.


	4. For Now

Isabella stirred from her slumber as the jet landed in Slikenborg, Denmark. The sun was setting and only a few hours of daylight remained. The bad feeling in her stomach had died down a bit, but she was ever conscious of its presence. Looking to see if Farlon and Levi were awake, Isabella turned her head and found both men still sounds asleep. She swore they could sleep through the apocalypse, yet a gentle smile appeared on her face when she looked at Levi. His face was slack, that constant stoic appearance he puts on was gone and for once he appeared to be at peace. Given the fact for the past six months his nights have been haunted by _that_ dream, it looked like it was safe to say that Levi had slept for the majority of the flight, about ten hours, the most sleep he's gotten in a long time. None the less, Isabella gently shook Levi and Farlon awake, much to their displeasure and told them they had arrived. Not a minute later their contact boarded the plane and led them into the airport. Thirty minutes later the trio was in a car heading towards the city.

Just like the ride to the airport, the car was filled to the brim with tension and silence. No one said a word and everyone wore a mask of utter indifference. Eyes never wandered, hands were kept in their personal space and thoughts ran wild. One would think that the contact would have at least given them a status update. Instead the contact only said one sentence, three words. Car, get in. Her Danish accent was thick and rolled off her tongue when she spoke English. Levi in particular found it beautiful. Coming from a French background, his native tongue was the first language he ever learned and when he was taught English, the accent didn't go away. The girls found it attractive, truly believing he was an exchange student from France, while the guys teased him and were constantly making fun of him for being French and picking fights. When Levi called their bluff, the boys quickly refuted, pulling the "you're French so you'll just run away before the fight starts" card and never actually fought Levi, so he could appreciate the foreign accent the woman possessed.

Just as the car was approaching Slikenborg, the car veered off of the main highway and took a side road. The city's skyline disappeared and was replaced by an endless sea of trees. Slikenborg was neighbor to the largest forest in Denmark and would be the perfect place to keep a facility that, according to C.I.A. records, didn't exist. Twenty or so minutes later, the car pulled up to a forest clearing and in the middle was a very large and very wide building. There were few windows, if any and it was painted to blend into the forest canvas. Stepping out of the car, the C.I.A. contact ushered the agents out and led them silently to the building. A pair of reinforced steel doors slid open after the woman stared directly into the camera watching them and spoke a few words in Danish. Walking into the building, the agents immediately noticed the below average temperature and severely darkened interior. Everything was painted black by the darkness and the building itself seemed to swallow any noises made by man or machine. It was so quiet one might wonder if they've gone deaf. The facility was an extremely eerie place, so eerie even Levi was feeling uneasy about it. Neither Isabella nor Farlon liked it, it felt too much like an inmate being led to death row, as if Death himself was leading them to their demise.

The woman turned down the first hall on the right and pulled out an I.D. card. Approaching the first door, she swiped her card and the locked clicked open. Her arm motioned for them to enter first and the agents reluctantly entered whatever circle of Hell this might be. Flipping the light switch, the pitch black room immediately lit up with light and neither Isabella, Farlon nor Levi thought they'd ever be this happy for luminance. The room was not as big as the vast, empty space the darkness had originally painted it to be. A massive mirror lined the walls of the room and in the middle was a table with three chairs on one side and one on the other. Still not uttering a single word, the contact sat and motioned for the trio to sit down. Taking their seats, the deafening silence was finally broken.

"First and for most," the contact started, "allow me to personally welcome you to Denmark. I apologize for the rushed or rather unorthodox introduction, but secrecy was the upmost priority. We couldn't risk speaking in the off chance someone hacked into our communications, not until we got into this room. The room itself is encased in lead, blocking out any electronic frequencies and counteracting out going or incoming signals. With the fear of our status being compromised over, I can now fill you in on the current situation. Come with me and I will show you why this facility is off the record."

Passing through another long hallway, the agents reach a massive door and the woman, who still has yet to say her name, scanned her I.D. card once again and waited for the door to open. What Isabella, Farlon and Levi saw, was beyond anything they could have ever imagined. It was one massive storage room, wall to wall file cabinets and computers lining every possible inch of space.

"My God…," Farlon gasped. The woman smirked at Farlon's amazement. She too was amazed the first time she saw the facility. It was here in this facility that every dirty secret the C.I.A. has ever covered up comes to rest; even other countries had a few skeletons hidden here.

"Agents, I welcome you to what has been dubbed, the Graveyard. It is here that the C.I.A.'s top secret hits, misses and other wise unmentionables come to sleep, which is why this facility has never been marked down on any record." Leading the trio further into the Graveyard, the contact glanced back to see their heads turning in every direction trying to grasp the gravity of the place.

"Much like the Graveyard, I too do not, according to the government of Denmark and your country, exist. You three may call me, Mirage."

"The illusion of refuge, how clever," Levi remarked, Mirage merely smirked.

"Not to be rude, but could you please tell us what we're supposed to be protecting already?" Farlon asked. Mirage stopped abruptly in front of a terminal on the far left wall of the room and pulled up the log in screen. Typing in quickly, too quickly even for Levi to catch a glance, the login information, files upon files flooded the screen. Knowing exactly which file she was looking for, Mirage opened it and loaded up the reason for all the secrecy.

"This, Agent Church, is what you were sent here." Gazing at the screen, Farlon's eyes were met with three bolded words, **Project Titan Virus**. Below it were at least one hundred pages of notes, observations, trials and messages exchanged between the C.I.A. and engineers assigned to the project.

"Six years ago C.I.A. technicians were developing a computer virus that was capable of bypassing any security system on any piece of technology. In theory, it would become the single, most deadly weapon the United States possessed, but the project was deemed too dangerous by the United Nations and the plug was pulled. However the project was only cancelled three years after it had begun and the virus was still in its early stages, only capable of hacking into low level electronics. The plug may have been pulled, but the technicians kept designing and testing for as long as they could until the C.I.A. came and confiscated their work. Within this file, lies the final draft of the Titan Virus. Should this file fall into enemy hands, they will have the power to take over, control and destroy any and all pieces of technology they wish," Mirage finished in a concerned voice. Levi turned his attention towards his friends, uneasiness clearly visible on their faces. Levi was getting a bad feeling and he's sure he's not the only one.

Mirage finished explaining their mission and added one final note.

"Director Zackly has asked me to send the file to the safe zone and to give one of you the code that unlocks the file. When you return to America after ensuring the thieves that stole information from Bonn and Moscow do not attack here, Director Zackly will retrieve the file and make sure no one gets their hands on the Titan Virus."

"Wouldn't it be a wise decision to destroy the file altogether, so that it is never used against us?" Isabella asked.

"You'd think that wouldn't you?" Mirage replied, "But there are stubborn people in the C.I.A. as well as the government, who believe that destroying it would be mistake and that the virus should be used to stop terrorism and benefit all mankind. However what I don't think they understand is what happens when someone comes into power and has no sense of what 'benefits mankind'? What happens when this virus is used on those we claim to be protecting?"

Levi shook his head at the stupidity of his countrymen. From his first day in the academy he's been taught that as a member of the C.I.A., his duty was to dirty his hands and perform the tough jobs that needed to be done in order to ensure the safety of Americans, but he was also taught that sometimes leadership as well as orders needed to be questioned.

"This will truly be our downfall," Levi said bitterly, "Our ignorance and stupidity will come full circle and stab us in the back. This damn obsession of playing God has gotten us nowhere, it's only going to get even more people killed." Mirage hummed in agreement, she began to see why he was chosen to come on this mission. But Mirage also began to see that Levi and his fellow agents were in for more than they bargained for, that just didn't know it yet.

~: :~

The moon was high in the night sky as Levi, Isabella and Farlon were finally on their way to Slikenborg after what seemed like an eternity. They were tired and all just wanted to take a hot shower and sleep.

"Still can't believe Mirage gave you the code, Levi," Farlon complained. Isabella rolled her eyes and commented on how Farlon was acting like a child.

"I guess she could tell how bad your memory is, Farlon. You'd forget your access codes if Isabella hadn't made you keep them in your phone," Levi replied flatly, though it was clear by the faint smirk on his face there was no real venom in his words. Farlon mumbled under his breath and Levi hummed in victory. It appeared that Farlon and Levi were on good terms again and this made the feeling in Isabella's stomach a little better. Levi glanced out the corner of his eye and saw the expression of worry on her face. Turning his head slightly, Levi's eyes softened and he took her hand in his and gently ran his thumb over the top of her hand. Clutching the darker haired man's hand, the worried agent didn't turn to look at him. She was right to be worried, because when the car came to a stop at an intersection it was rammed from the left side by a black suburban.

The driver was dead, having taken the brunt of the impact and the passenger of the suburban stepped out. Farlon and Isabella were out cold, seemingly unharmed aside from a few cuts and whiplash. Levi however, was barley clinging to consciousness as he looked to see who hit them. One of the suburban's headlights was shining directly into Levi's eyes causing him to hardly be able to keep them open. The passenger walked in the path of the light and stopped outside the car window. Levi looked up and could only make out the outline of the person, it was a woman.

Before the darkness consumed him, Levi could hear the faint sound of another car pulling up and people rushing towards the car.

_Xx Brace yourself, things are going to get messy...xX_


End file.
